


Love Thy Neighbor

by vcg73



Category: Glee
Genre: Because there's not enough Kadam fic on this site :), Gen, Kadam AU, M/M, kadam
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-10
Updated: 2018-03-10
Packaged: 2019-03-29 07:56:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,014
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13922748
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/vcg73/pseuds/vcg73
Summary: A little ficlet in which Adam and Kurt live in neighboring apartments instead of being NYADA schoolmates.





	Love Thy Neighbor

Adam looked up from his book in frustration when the sounds of hammering and drilling began again. All day long, whoever it was that had moved in next door a couple of weeks ago had been bashing about in an apparent frenzy of home-improvement. Which, normally, would not have been any of Adam’s business. Live and let live was his motto and if his neighbor happened to be Bob the Builder, well, that was fine.

Except that the walls separating apartment 24A from apartment 26A happened to be about as thick as gossamer and he could hear practically every move the newcomer made. And studying for his mid-term exams in the middle of a construction zone was proving somewhat difficult.

At least there was entertainment provided. The man had a tendency to sing while he worked and he had an amazingly lovely voice. Eclectic taste, too. Adam had heard snatches of Broadway, old standards, rock ballads, power pop anthems and a few things he didn’t even recognize. At first he had actually thought there was more than one singer because of the man’s impressive range.

It was definitely a step up from listening to his last neighbor, Brody the gigolo, and his endless parade of clients moaning and screaming lustful appreciation day and night!

A shushing sound took over the banging and electrical noises, which Adam identified after a moment as probably belonging to a saw. He sighed in relief. It was still a bit distracting but at least it was quiet. He actually managed to get a few minutes of productive study in before a loud crash nearly scared the life out of him. This startling sound was followed by a shout of, “Fuck!”

Adam tried to go back to his work, but the stretched out silence that followed the distraught exclamation was more distracting than the noise had been. Had the man been hurt by whatever caused that crash? Was he lying passed out in a pool of blood, a severed hand leaking his life out onto the bare floorboards for want of a concerned party willing to call for an ambulance?

Okay, so that was probably a bit dramatic. Adam was concerned nonetheless. Should he go next door and check? He had briefly spotted four men moving the newcomer’s stuff into his apartment but they had not actually met yet. He wasn’t even sure which of the men he had seen was the neighbor. Now might be a good time for a welcome visit and if the man proved to be intact but unfriendly, at least the visions of accidental mutilation dancing through Adam’s brain would have been laid to rest.

Mind made up, he set aside his text and checked his hair in the small mirror hanging over his bureau. Not too bad. Lifting his shirt and then huffing into his palm he took a quick sniff test to assure that body and breath were both socially acceptable before piling a few freshly baked cookies onto a plate and setting off to satisfy his curiosity.

Adam knocked briskly, hoping his more paranoid imaginings had been wrong. To his relief, he heard a voice call out, “Just a minute!”

The rattle of chains and locks sounded and the door opened, revealing one final chain guard and an inch and a half of a tallish young man with a startlingly handsome face. Well, at least the half Adam could see was handsome, including one bright eye in a curious shade of mixed blue and green. His hair color was undetermined due to the protective sawdust and paint flecked bandanna currently covering it.

“Can I help you?” the man asked after a moment, alerting Adam to the fact that he was just standing there staring and gaping like a fish. Well, wasn’t that embarrassing.

“I brought you some biscuits,” he blurted, holding the plate up. “I’m your next door neighbor. It sounded as if you were taking a break from your … project, so I thought this might be a nice time to introduce myself.”

The man looked startled as he glanced between Adam’s hopeful smile and the plate of chocolate chip cookies. Then an answering smile broke out, so lovely that Adam felt his heart skip a beat. 

Whoa, slow down there mate. You don’t even know if the man is gay, or single, or even mildly interested! he told himself, wondering what was wrong with him that he should be so instantly smitten by a smile.

“That’s so nice, thank you!” the man said. “Would you like to come in? It’s a total mess in here but I have a table we can sit at.”

Before Adam could answer, the door was shut in his face. For a split second, he wondered if he had done something wrong and then he heard the chain rattling and realized that his neighbor was just freeing the door. Sure enough, it opened again a moment later, wide enough to allow him to see the other man’s full face and body as he stood back and made a welcoming gesture with one hand.

“I’m Adam Crawford,” he said, handing over the plate and stuffing his empty hands in his pockets as he walked into the apartment.

“Kurt Hummel,” was the reply. “I’m so glad you stopped by! I’ve lived here for two weeks and you’re the first neighbor I’ve met. I’d been warned that New York wasn’t the friendliest place to live but I come from one of those little towns where everyone knows everyone, so it’s been a little bit of culture shock. Speaking of different cultures, I like your accent. Where are you from?”

As he spoke, Kurt bustled around his tiny kitchenette, getting out cups, small plates, napkins and a small store-bought fruit platter from the refrigerator.

Taking a seat at the offered table, Adam said, “England. Have you ever heard of Essex?”

“Sure, that’s where Dame Maggie Smith is from,” Kurt replied, his eyes lighting up.

He put a kettle of water on to heat and held up a box of tea bags in one hand and a box of single serve instant coffee packets in the other, nodding when Adam gestured toward the tea. Lipton wasn’t exactly the kind mum used to make, but he had learned to adapt since moving to the U.S. and he absolutely understood the sacrifices required by a tight budget.

“That’s right,” he agreed, taking a few grapes and some melon cubes and offering his host a cookie as Kurt settled into the chair opposite Adam’s and nudged the fruit plate closer to him. “Are you a fan?”

“She’s amazing,” Kurt gushed. “Sister Act, Harry Potter, Hook, Downton Abbey. I sort of grew up on her work.”

“Me too,” Adam said happily, laughing as he tossed out a few imitations of the characters from Downton Abbey and found Kurt sliding right into the fun along with him. Their conversation roamed pleasantly for the next several minutes, forming the start of a potential friendship in that short amount of time.

The chatting paused when the kettle whistled its readiness and Kurt jumped up to fix them each a cup of tea, giving Adam a moment to glance around the apartment. It was essentially the same layout as his own one bedroom flat, but he could see evidence that Kurt had been fixing it up some. Fresh paint covered the walls and he could see where some of the splintery wooden door frames - assuming they had been in the same condition as his own - had been sanded and refinished.

There were two chairs visible. One rather odd contraption that looked something like a car seat fastened onto an office chair frame and re-imagined as a living room piece. And the other was probably some sort of easy chair. It was difficult to say because it sat upside down in the middle of a drop cloth, the wooden frame sadly lopsided and clearly broken on one side. There also didn’t appear to be any springs inside, so Adam was not quite sure how a person’s weight would be supported even if the frame were intact.

Kurt noticed him looking and said, “That’s my project, as you called it.” Suddenly it seemed to occur to him that there might be a reason Adam had known he was taking a break from it. “Oh, dear, have I been making too much noise?”

Adam shrugged, far more willing to forgive the disturbance to his studying now that he had met the attractive noise-maker. “Can’t be helped. The builders didn’t seem to consider insulation when they put the place together. At least you don’t spend hours a day yelling at your boyfriend over the phone like my neighbor in number 28. I swear I know more about her love-life than I do my own. Not that I currently have one. My last boyfriend proved to be a self-centered wanker, but still you get the idea.”

Okay, so perhaps not the most subtle hint in the world that he was gay and available, but a man had to do what he had to do, right?

Adam did an internal dance of giddiness when Kurt nodded sympathetically and replied. “I hear you. My boyfriend and I dated for two years in high school and then he cheated on me less than a month after I got here. I was pretty messed up for a while. Devastated, actually, but I’m feeling a lot better now. I got a new job, started school at NYU, moved away from a stressful roommate situation and here I am, making my own way in New York City and taking my frustrations out on inanimate pieces of furniture I find at dump sites and flea markets.”

“I’m impressed,” Adam said honestly. He stood. “May I?”

“Sure,” Kurt agreed, escorting him over to take a better look. “I built that first chair out of an old car seat I found in a wrecked Mercedes. It was kind of an homage to both my dad, who is a mechanic, and my best friend from Ohio. Her name is Mercedes.”

He smiled when Adam laughed in appreciation of the joke.

“I’ve been fixing this one up,” he continued, gesturing at the chair on the floor. “It’ll look great when I’m finished. Or … well, at least I hope it will. The frame is all broken up and I don’t have a good clamp so it moves out of place every time I try to work on it. I was trying to replace that busted piece on the left side just before you came over but I nearly crushed my hand when it slipped.”

“Thus the salty exclamation,” Adam teased.

Kurt winced a little. “You heard that, huh? Sorry.”

“I’m not. It’s what prompted me to get off my arse and come see you. I was afraid you might have done yourself harm and my conscience couldn’t take the guilt of ignoring it.”

Kurt ducked his chin to hide a smile, then he looked up through his lashes in a playful way that made Adam’s stomach swoop. “Well, I’m glad you have such a sense of civic responsibility,” Kurt teased.

“Me too,” Adam breathed, feeling his hand reach out without conscious provocation. Kurt met him halfway and the spark of their skin touching was like an electric jolt traveling clear up Adam’s arm and straight into his heart. He had to clear his throat and look away before he could give in to the incredible urge that swept over him to step forward and kiss those smiling red lips. “So, erm, would you like a hand with fixing it? I know nothing whatsoever about furniture construction but I have two strong hands that could probably hold the frame steady while you work on it.”

Kurt adorably clapped his hands and gave an excited little hop. “Are you serious? Oh my god, Adam, that would be so amazing.” He impulsively gave Adam a kiss on the cheek.

After that, Adam could not have said no if Kurt had suggested turning him into a floor lamp to accent the decor. He gratefully plopped down on the drop cloth, giving his suddenly weak knees a break and obeyed Kurt’s directions on where and how to support the chair frame.

Soon, after putting on a pair of protective eye goggles and giving another set to Adam, Kurt was lost in his project. He took out the bad segment of the frame and carefully sawed and sanded a fresh piece of lumber to take its place, nailing it into place and slathering the joins with wood glue. Adam’s arms were getting sore after a while from holding the frame steady but he covered his discomfort with a smile until Kurt determined that the piece could stand on its own.

“You’re so wonderful,” Kurt told him admiringly as they sat back and observed their handiwork. “You barely know me and you just pitched right in to help me. I know people that I’ve known for years who wouldn’t have done that.”

“That is a terrible loss on their part,” Adam told him. “Because I can’t think of a better way I could have spent my time than in your company today.”

Kurt blushed. “You’re sweet. Do you … that is, I’ve really enjoyed spending today with you too and if it isn’t too soon or too weird … do you think maybe you’d like to, I don’t know, maybe go out for coffee or a drink sometime?”

“Like a date?” Adam said, feeling the need to make sure that his imagination wasn’t getting ahead of reality. Kurt nodded shyly and Adam felt like his face was going to crack with the force of his smile. “I would love to go on a date with you. Is tonight too soon?”

Kurt’s surprised delight was a beautiful thing to see. “I think tonight would be perfect. Any suggestions on where to go?”

“We could have dinner,” he suggested after a moment’s consideration. “I know a very nice little Greek tavern over on 42nd. Delicious food, casual atmosphere, and it won’t break a couple of poor college student budgets.”

Kurt smiled. “That sounds perfect. I need to clean all this off,” he said, gesturing at his dusty clothing, “so how about I pick you up at your place around six?”

Adam grinned. “Should I text you directions?”

A laugh met the joke. “I think I can find it. I’ll see you then.”

Taking the hint, Adam scrambled to his feet, offering Kurt a hand up, Giving that hand one final squeeze, Adam went back to his own apartment where he took a long shower and got dressed in his best classy casual attire of black khaki pants, a button down teal shirt and nearly new black sneakers.

He could not stop smiling as he combed his hair and carefully shaved away any hint of stubble from his face. When his ears picked up the sound of Kurt’s voice singing in the apartment next door, Adam paused to listen. He couldn’t make out the lyrics but the song sounded happy and upbeat, and he suddenly felt so excited that he was forced to stifle an entirely unmanly squeal into a pillow lest the thin walls accidentally give him away to Kurt.

Adam still had a little time, so he forced himself to finish his abandoned studying, seriously doubting that any information was actually managing to make its way into his memory since he kept getting distracted by the thought of Kurt’s smile and his enthusiasm and his laughing eyes and the paint smear that had been decorating his right cheek the entire time they spent together.

Finally six o'clock arrived and right on time a knock sounded. Adam slammed his book shut and grabbed his waiting keys and wallet. He hurried to open the door and was met with the vision of Kurt, so transformed that it literally took Adam’s breath away. The protective bandanna was long gone, revealing a tall thick coif of brown hair highlighted with threads of red and gold. His layered sweatshirt and yoga pants had been replaced by sinfully tight gray jeans, neat little brown lace-up boots, and an intricately patterned shirt in shades of blue, black and gray. The paint smear was long gone and his freshly showered skin carried the most delicious waft of subtly spicy fragrance that Adam had ever smelled.

“You look gorgeous,” he said after a moment.

Kurt’s pleased smile made Adam feel ten feet tall. “Thank you. So do you. That color really brings out your eyes.” He gallantly offered his arm. “Shall we?”

Taking the offer, Adam quickly locked his door. The restaurant was not far so they walked, taking their time with a leisurely stroll that allowed for comfortable conversation. Kurt learned about Adam’s senior course at the prestigious NYADA, mentioning that his former roommate was a freshman there, and Kurt told Adam about the classes he had begun at NYU, where he was taking both design and musical theater courses but had not yet made up his mind which to major in.

Watching this man, listening to him and taking in the enthusiasm and drive with which he seemed to approach his entire life, Adam wondered if it was possible to fall in love in a day.

Tonight, they would just have dinner and maybe some coffee later on. They would enjoy their conversation and get to know each other better. They would likely make plans for more dates and he would talk Kurt into letting him help some more with the refurbishing of his furniture. Maybe one day they would move forward another step and another, toward a real and lasting relationship.

For now that promise was enough. For now, there was a wonderful date with a beautiful man who seemed as interested in him as he was in them. They had laughter and newness and hilarious anecdotes and thoughtful conversation.

They had possibilities. What could be better than that?

THE END


End file.
